Once again we’re proving why the biggest adversity to independent music is success.

Though the overwhelming sentiment was positive surrounding the utterly surprising announcement Labor Day morning that Jason Isbell had finally broken through the once thought impenetrable barrier for an independent artist to receive a nomination in a major category for the Country Music Association’s annual awards, an audible minority made sure to pipe up on social media and in comment sections proclaiming the folly of finding joy in such an achievement, while summarily running down Isbell’s music, even if they once counted themselves as fans.

This was the same arc of public sentiment that appeared with Chris Stapleton when he started to find mainstream success, and to a similar degree with Sturgill Simpson. When Stapleton was the Dave Cobb-produced bushy-bearded and big built songwriter who had cut his teeth with the SteelDrivers and was covering classic country songs like “Tennessee Whiskey,” he was everyone’s favorite true country champion. But as soon as he started winning CMA Awards, all of a sudden those songs didn’t sound so country, and he was seen as some suave marketeer singing R&B songs.

Jason Isbell is not a country musician, and he will be the first to admit that. In fact that’s the first thing he did after the CMA nominations were announced Monday. In a very smart statement that said so much by saying so little, Isbell tweeted out, “We’re grateful for the CMA recognition. Happy to be included in a category with some real country artists.”

While at the same time taking a subtle jab at artists who are not real country, Jason Isbell was also admitting subtly that he was not country himself, especially compared to Chris Stapleton and Miranda Lambert—two of his fellow Album of the Year nominees. So how and why are we supposed to give Jason Isbell a pass for not being country and receiving a nomination, when we give no quarter to artists who are clearly not country and receive the same thing?

This is a very fair criticism, and a quandary for critics and fans alike. On one hand, you want to root for quality, of which Jason Isbell and The Nashville Sound embodies. But at the same time, it’s unfair to couch Isbell’s music as country, especially when Isbell is admitting it’s not country himself.

You can’t scream “not country!” at a record that is filled with mostly R&B, EDM, and/or hip-hop influences, but conveniently look away just because the non-country influences in an album are rock. Granted, rock music is more akin to the roots of country, while EDM and hip-hop are very much the polar opposites. Rock music, like country, is supposed to be a more organic influence, meaning humans playing music by striking chords on wood and wire, and slapping skins stretched over drum barrels. EDM and hip-hop are decidedly more electronic based. It doesn’t make one right and one wrong necessarily, but organic vs. electronic is why country and rock mix more intuitively than country and EDM.

Make no mistake about it, taking the simple theorem offered above and judging Jason Isbell’s The Nashville Sound, it is decidedly more country than 90% of what is offered as “country” by the mainstream today. Though The Nashville Sound was couched early on as a more hard rock effort—and that’s how the first single came across—in truth it has quite a few acoustical moments, and even country moments. After all, Jason Isbell has a full time fiddle in his band. How many mainstream country outfits can you say that about in 2017?

But beyond all that, let’s not discount Jason Isbell’s eligibility for a country award just because he does what 90% of Music Row is unwilling to do, which is admit they’re not country. Let’s not dock Jason Isbell for honesty, let’s applaud him. If we have a choice for what might be mistaken as country—either Jason Isbell’s latest album or some garbage from Sam Hunt—I think the choice is easy.

And though this feels like an extremely weird place to mention Taylor Swift, this is what Taylor did when she decided to be honest with her fans a few years back. You can’t fault any artist for wanting to evoke whatever influences are flowing through them in their music. They’re artists, and let them be artists free of the bounds of genre if they feel so inclined. The sin is when they lie to you about it, when they call a spade a club, and try to tell you that you’re the one that’s stupid and closed-minded for calling it as you see (or hear) it.

Jason Isbell is not country. He is decidedly Americana. And one side discussion about this CMA nomination is how it potentially couches Americana once again as the second tier of country, where artists go to develop or die, while it should be seen as so much more than that, rising up to challenge to reign of the mainstream as the authority on American roots music.

But Jason Isbell deserves his nomination for Album of the Year by the CMAs just as much as anyone has ever deserved that distinction. This is like Guy Clark, or John Prine at their height of commercial appeal breaking through and finding the greater recognition they deserved. With this CMA nomination, Jason Isbell is carrying the dreams of all songwriters with him, past and future. When songwriting is as good as Jason Isbell’s, it transcends genre. Every genre wants to call it their own.

Something else that deserves to be measured here is how much of a citizen of Nashville Jason Isbell has become. He has said his piece about the lack of quality music coming off of Music Row. He’s nobody’s lap dog. He’s spoken honestly about his feelings, just as he has about being considered country. But he’s also not a firebrand, flamethrowing the mainstream for being a bunch of pussies. There’s even pictures out there of Isbell shaking the hands of the Florida Georgia Line guys at a charity function. And good. Perhaps some of Isbell’s quality will rub off on them. We know their infection won’t ride up his sleeve. Isbell’s too honest, and too grounded to go chasing something he isn’t. That’s what’s so cool about Jason Isbell’s ascent. He didn’t take the big major label deal like Sturgill (not to fault Sturgill), he didn’t release some big radio single. Jason Isbell isn’t out there relying on tweets or duet performances by Justin Timberlake, or using backroom deals to get performance slots on Saturday Night Live.

Jason Isbell has earned everything he’s received, has boot strapped this thing from the very beginning, and found his way to the top his own way. What fun is getting to the top if you lose yourself during the ascent? I remember writing the story nearly six years ago about Jason Isbell’s van being stolen in Dallas. Now he travels around in two buses. Finally, after years of hard work, Jason Isbell is reaping the rewards, and on his terms. Finally, after years of independent fans insisting that the best and brightest artists deserve at least a seat at the table in the mainstream, they have received one.

But what if CMA voters catch wind of all the sour grapes being squeezed by people in the independent realm about how Isbell doesn’t deserve it, the CMAs don’t matter, and the system is all corrupt now anyway. In the last 48 hours, we’ve seen folks running down Thirty Tigers and other elements of Isbell’s team as being turncoats. Just like we saw with Sturgill Simpson and Chris Stapleton before, when people buy in so hard to being the underdogs, they don’t want their favorite music to get big. They want the exclusivity. They want to tell themselves they’re better than all those stupid mainstream fans, and they can’t fathom listening to the same music as them.

But this is what we’ve been fighting for in independent roots music for years. Is Jason Isbell the ideal candidate for a Country Music Awards? Maybe not. Would some rather see Cody Jinks or Tyler Childers walk away with this distinction? Of course. But when has any list ever fit perfectly in everyone’s ideal? Do you think fans of Little Big Town and Lady Antebellum are out there undercutting their nominations because the albums weren’t country enough or they don’t agree with their politics? No, they’re celebrating, and offering their support. Drawing a hard line is important when you’re looking to not lose any ground. But when it comes to gaining it, pragmatism is the name of the game. The great thing about the Jason Isbell nomination is it opens up the possibility that any of your favorite independent music artists could find a similar fate in the future, when previously this was thought to be an impossibility.

And no institution in country music should ever be forfeited to the money changers on Music Row—the CMAs or anything else—just because they’ve fallen out of favor in the modern era. We the people of country music own these institutions. They are for us. The CMAs have been around for over 50 years. Previous recipients of CMA Awards include Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, and Taylor Swift, but they also include Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, and Chris Stapleton. Don’t give the CMAs over to the industry just because adverse forces have been able to burrow their tentacles deep into the inner workings over the last few years. Fight for it.

And as for all the folks that are allowing politics to get in the way of either the enjoyment of this distinction, or Isbell’s music in general: Seriously, it’s time to get over it. If you’re offended from 1 1/2 songs from Isbell’s latest album or some tweets he sent out, then you’d be offended by the vast majority of the politics of your favorite artists, you just don’t know what they are. Jason Isbell chose to enter the political realm with his music, and nobody can be faulted for not wanting to interface with it. This is the risk an artist runs when they broach political subjects in their music. But again, don’t fault Jason Isbell for being honest about his feelings and being willing to answer tough questions when most country artists punt—just like when he admits to not being country.

Most artists won’t tell you the truth about anything, because they’re too afraid how it might affect their careers. Yet honesty is how Jason Isbell got this far, including now being the first independent artists to be nominated for a major award by the CMAs.

Regardless how you feel about Isbell’s music, or his politics, this nomination for Album of the Year by the CMAs should be something all fans of true, honest music should celebrate. Or don’t, and let the joy, fulfillment, and understanding conveyed through the songs of one of our generation’s most gifted songwriters pass under your nose because you allow preconceived notions and intrinsic biases to get in your way.

Awards shows, industry recognition, sales charts and the like can all infer our musical path through life as ways to help curate what others are identifying with, but they shouldn’t define it. Just like we should take back the CMAs and other institutions of country music, we should also take back the meaning of success. For too long, “success” has been under the ownership of some of the worst music country has to offer. Success has been a harbinger for awfulness, which makes many reluctant to want to see their favorite artists find favor with it.

But that era is ending. Sturgill Simpson is selling out amphitheaters and winning Grammy Awards. Chris Stapleton is topping the album charts perennially and sweeping the CMAs. Jason Isbell is getting nominated for awards thought never possible for an independent artist, as well as other incredible achievements for a critically-acclaimed songwriter. These are moments we should be basking in, and attempting to secure for independent and quality artists in the future.

There is a good chance Jason Isbell will lose the CMA for Album of the Year, and may not even be there to perform due to previous commitments touring Europe. But the win is already been secured simply through the nomination. Gripe all you want, and for whatever reason. But I choose to celebrate the reward of persistence and sticking to your principles that the nomination for Jason Isbell symbolizes.

79 Comments

Love this. Especially comparing him to Prine, totally get that influence. His lyrics might make people uncomfortable, but for me it’s better than being bored. Isbell knows this country is divided.

As for the CD, “Something to Love” is probably the most country song on it, and it’s a damned fine bit of songwriting too. “Tupelo” and “Last of my Kind” are more country than anything some of the “bros” put out.

But he really doesn’t have a “full time fiddle” in his band. Amanda is not full time on his tour, she’s got her own shows to perform. I’ve seen him with and without her, totally prefer “with”, he lights up like a firecracker when she’s there.

As for LBT, enough already, they could release an album of nothing but farts and get a nomination. Oh wait, FGL and Shakes Bryan already did that.

“As for the CD, ‘Something to Love’ is probably the most country song on it, and it’s a damned fine bit of songwriting too. ‘Tupelo’ and ‘Last of my Kind’ are more country than anything some of the ‘bros’ put out.”

My sentiments exactly, and I would probably throw “If We Were Vampires” into the mix too. 🙂

But yeah, if the CMA’s are going to award music that defies genre, it might as well be GOOD music.

Very muddy waters here. Why is it so important to have a seat at the “mainstream” table? Why not let them go off in their superficial direction and just build a new foundation for roots and real country?

It’s not important to have a seat at the mainstream table. It’s important to have a seat at the CMA table—which is a 50+ year institution sworn to support ALL country music, not just that of a select few from major labels.

” Why not let them go off in their superficial direction and just build a new foundation for roots and real country?”

Because all that has resulted in is fracturing, and more fracturing. It’s not like this hasn’t been tried. In fact it’s been tried dozens of times, and each time the pie of independent fans gets cut slimmer and slimmer.

and they think that by throwing us a bone with an isbell nomination we’ll forgive them???

and by the looks of things a lot of us have.

but not me. I won’t forget.

the table belongs to me, not them. It’s my table.

And they’ve gone into my country music and turned it into a den of thieves.

Let them have the table! quit playing their game!

They threw us a bone and too many of us are duped.

“Because all that has resulted in is fracturing, and more fracturing.”

and so I say to you: fracture away! because we do Country Music no good when we prove to the acms and cmas that we can be bought with a handout nomination that makes us feel good while they keep ruining Country Music.

“once upon a time there was a brutal king who taxed his subjects brutally. and all their incomes and wages were owed unto him as taxes. and the king was hated throughout the land, and their lives he ruined and their futures he destroyed.

Then one day it was as though a new king came into the land. and he raised the minimum wage and all rejoiced, for now they had more money than before. but in so doing they paid more taxes, but in their great joy they failed to see how the old king had duped, tricked, conned, and made monkeys of them. for they thought they had gotten what they wanted.”

I see through the smoke and lights. i haven’t forgotten how they stiffed Charley Pride.

I’m not a stickler at all for sticking to a genre but what’s country and what’s not country has me confused these days. I wonder what the man on the street would say about Sturgill, Jason and even some of Chris Stapleton’s music. Rock/Country/Southern rock. The most confounding is Anderson East. He sounds completely rock/R & B to me but he gets covered by country media because he’s Miranda’s boyfriend? I have no idea.

Anderson East gets covered in those places because he’s an East Nashville guy signed to Dave Cobb’s label and produced by Dave. When I first saw him open acoustically for Sturgill he seemed like he would fit into the singer/songwriter, call him Americana if you want because nothing quite fits realm. But once he went into the studio with a full band it turned into what he is now. His problem really is that he doesn’t have a genre to push, which I think is a knock against genre definitions/boundaries and not Anderson. His new single is even more in the top-40 radio direction and I hope it finds a place to land on radio.

I’ve heard All On My Mind on Sirius The Pulse so I think they’re going to push it to AC.

He certainly has country roots, I first saw him playing guitar and doing vocals for Holly Williams. I think they’re hoping to push him into mainstream because of the slight success of getting one of his songs on the 50 shades sountrack. They were working the Ed Sheeran who wrote All On My Mind angle really hard which to me is another indication of the direction he’s going. Hard to break into mainstream at his age IMO. Maybe sticking to country and being a small fish in a small pond would’ve been better for him.

East is produced by Cobb, lives in Nash and is touring w/ Stapleton besides who he dates. Like Lucie Silvas who is married to aBrothers Osbourne but is touring w/ Stapleton. They aren’t country artists but by having some country songs, Nash connections & being on one of the biggest country tours – they will get some country press.

PS Glad for Isbell nomination. Looks to me like good songs getting a chance to be heard by more people is a beautiful thing.

While I think the man on the street might have trouble discerning country from Americana, I mean look at the struggle on this site, IMO you will be hard pressed to find anybody who thinks Sturgill’s latest and East are remotely country no matter who produces.

Good write-up, Trigger. I agree with this- I’ve seen a lot of sour grapes about this nomination. I am happy for Isbell, and I love the narrative of the independent artist making it. Why not celebrate quality? Yes, it may not be “true country,” but it is authentic and honest, which is country is at its best.

Great article, Trig:
I like to say that the difference between Americana and modern “Country” music is that Americana takes the best parts of country, rock, folk, and roots music and organically blends them together. Modern “Country” music takes the clichés and worst parts of as many genres as it can muster, smushes them together like silly putty, adds autotune and releases the beast to the public.

For me, country has always been more about the songwriting than the sound. Attended Isbell’s concert in Shreveport a few weeks ago and his style runs from country to rock and folk. Songwriting is great, music is great. People need to quit trying to pigeon hole these artists, if the music speaks to you on a personal level it’s “country” to me.
P.s. I hate the over-produced crap coming out of Nashville. It speaks to nothing but someone’s wallet.

I’m not a fan of this nomination, because as you said Trigger, he’s not a “country” artist. He’s “Americana.” I obviously agree with most users of this site that what passes as “country” nowadays is flaming garbage but I don’t think it’s right to put other non-country artists on a mainstream country awards pedestal just because we enjoy their music more. Is this preferable to Luke Bryan or someone of his ilk getting the nomination? Sure, but it doesn’t solve the faux-country problem one bit; if anything, it adds to it.

It’s a good album….not his best but I get why he got a nomination. It’s the fourth best release this year so far to me.
1. Turnpike “A Long Way From Your Heart”
2. Tyler Childers “Purgatory”
3. Moreland “Big Bad Luv”
4. Isbell “Nashville Sound”

“When songwriting is as good as Jason Isbell’s, it transcends genre. Every genre wants to call it their own.”
Funny, you said something quite different about Taylor Swift when “Speak Now” was released. Despite being one of the best written mainstream/pop albums of the last ten years, you said something along the lines of it didn’t matter how good the music was, if it was labeled as country when it wasn’t, it was bad. (I don’t remember the exact quote, but that was the gist of it.) How come when Taylor writes a great record that isn’t country she’s a threat, but when Jason does it he “transcends genre”?

Taylor Swift’s songwriting is not as good as Jason Isbell’s. That’s the first thing. Second thing is “Speak Now” was released 7 years ago. I don’t remember what I said about it either. But I do remember posting this article ahead of the 2011 CMA Awards basically saying that I hoped Taylor Swift would win over many others.

Hmm…I forgot about that article. Good stuff. I guess I feel that people don’t like Taylor just because of her image. I’m positive that if she wasn’t young, blonde and pretty she wouldn’t be written off as just another pop star and would be critically acclaimed (at least her pre-1989 material would be).

There’s plenty of respected artists (Alan Jackson, John Fogerty, Neil Young, James Taylor) who have praised her songwriting. And I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder but come on. She’s gorgeous.

i’m pretty indifferent about Taylor, though will readily admit that she is talented. Red (mostly) and 1989 were pretty solidly written – her earlier stuff was not terrible either when you remember it was written/performed by a child.

the only gripe i have about her is all her songs are about the same thing, first-world break up songs. and that’s a minor gripe, I love a good sad song.

she needs some life experience and she wont get it for a while (not that being superstar rich means instant happiness, but come on – it can’t hurt). The kind of life experience where she could write a song like Lost Highway or Sunday Morning Coming Down and really mean it.

she’s no Jason Isbell or Margo Price or a multitude of others, but she IS talented.

I’ve seen Jason play four times. Even met him once. Three of the four times were in small to medium-sized stand-up venues. I could always stand in the front row and watch him play those killer slide guitar solos within an arm’s reach. I’m thrilled for this nomination and hope he wins, but if he does I’m also a little fearful he’ll blow up like Stapelton did and not be able to play those small venues anymore.

The country-ness of a record should factor in to whether it wins a country award or not. And in that vein, yes, Jason Isbell should be docked points. But if we’re talking about the relative country-ness of albums, let’s not oversell “The Weight of These Wings.” People have been calling it Miranda’s Americana album, which is probably a good way to couch it.

Jason Isbell’s nomination was the CMA recognizing the best record released in the greater independent roots world, and thus recognizing that the independent side of music continues to grow in market share, relevancy, and importance. That’s why I continue to say the most important takeaway of this nomination is not that Jason Isbell is country (because he’s not), but that independent music has finally earned a seat at the table.

Yeah, Stapleton’s is the only country album even nominated, and plenty of people would take issue with even calling Chris country (but we’re probably getting to picky at a point). That said, tried to get my brother into Jason recently, he didn’t like it because it was country, although he’d also say southern rock.

Miranda’s album is Country. Stop saying it isn’t, that’s ridiculous. Just because it doesn’t sound like the crappy fake songs playing on country radio currently. In that vein Stapleton album might not be country either. Anyway Miranda, Stapleton & Isbell’s albums are all in my collection. It’s nice to see great songwriting/sings in 3/5 of the noms and not just generic pop crap.

He doesn’t consider himself country. Country radio doesn’t play him at all. Why should he be rewarded by the CMAs? There are other more fitting institutions like Americana awards and Grammys that he belongs in.

“Is Jason Isbell the ideal candidate for a Country Music Awards? Maybe not. Would some rather see Cody Jinks or Tyler Childers walk away with this distinction? Of course.” YES. Actual country artists being nominated for a country award.

But country radio doesn’t play country at all either, so what’s your point. Country radio is not a barometer for anything aside which fat cats at major labels want the public to hear that week.

If you want Cody Jinks or Tyler Childers or ANY independent country artist to ever get a chance for major recognition from the industry, and thus the increased sales and support that comes with it, you should be cheering this Jason Isbell nomination because it makes that possible in the future. Before, it was impossible.

I wouldn’t say Jason Isbell isn’t a country artist–I’d say he’s exactly what all the modern country fans say artists like Sam Hunt are. Jason Isbell is country despite mostly lacking country sounds in his music. I’d almost call him the John Mayer (it’s no secret Mayer is an Isbell fan, as you’ve covered) of the Americana world, but with more lyrical talent. Incredible songwriter, lyricist, and songwriter you can’t pigeonhole into one place. And yet his background, upbringing, and lifestyle are so evidently country. He might not reside in a little town anymore, but I can’t envision Jason Isbell partaking in many urban normalcies. Not because he’s opposed to them, but because they aren’t in his nature. A lot of Isbell’s music might not be country, but I don’t hesitate to call him a country artist in that he himself is very, very country. I sure hope he’ll release a full-blown country album at some point, because songs like “Something More than Free” and “Something to Love” are incredible.

I think it is a big win for him and Americana. Would we be up in arms if Turnpike Troubadours or Cody Jinks get nominated in 2018 for their next album? What if they win? He is paving the road for more of our favorite artists to get recognition, make more money, be on the radio. What if our family and friends liked the same artists we do without us first introducing them? Man, what a world.

All well and good but I think the simple fact that Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell are going out of their way to state that they are not “country” shows you just how fucked up country music really is. Isbell never has been yet CMA’s trying to claim him while Sturgill is running as fast as he can…..

I’ve said 100 times, I think more and more fans don’t give a shit; they just want to listen to good music. These guys are smart enough to see that and distance themselves from the clown show.

I agree that he has said different things here and there to insinuate that he doesn’t really care how people categorize him, but the Rolling Stone quotes are about the clearest and most focused set of quotes I have seen of him addressing the topic.

Also, I have not heard the “we are a rock band” story anywhere else, and he certainly never said it the times I have seen him live.

He has always said that he has many influences, including rock. I took that on stage quip about them “always being a rock band” as sarcasm aimed at people who try to pigeonhole him as this or that….. with humor coming from him saying it right before launching into a cover of a non country song.

On October he also said that in 10 years he will be the biggest country star in the world and there isn’t a damn thing the Nashville establishment will do. I take those type of serious interview statements as evidence that he has that goal and isn’t shying away from it or distancing himself from county. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t always openly talked about all of his inkfiinces and reserved the right to do whatever kind of misic he wants to at points in his career. It’s a bit of semantics, but overall I think he wants nothing more than to kick down the door to the Nashville establishment, always has, and that hasn’t chsnged. His Grammy win only made that stronger….re watch his speech referencing the “revolution”

Ok I didn’t mean to cause such a stir. I think we all agree he’s running away from “Nashville” and that’s all I intended. I likea nything he puts out so I don’t really care; folks can call it whatever they want

Americana is a combination of American roots genres (country, folk, blues, rock and roll, soul, gospel). Because there are so many genres, almost every artist will sound different so there aren’t really any specific “tells” that you could use to identify the genre. For example, Stapleton is a mix of county, rock and blues whereas William Bell is more soul and Lucinda Williams is folk/country.

Yeah but Sturgill won the Grammy for Best Country Album. He also got nominated for Best Album of the Year the Grammy’s highest honor vs. Beyoncé & Adele. But i don’t think Jason & Sturgill are trying to compete with each other on statues.

People – Americana – is a pasture for talented musicians to keep them off radio. The difference between it & country is a couple zeros at the end of a royalty check.

CMA’s aren’t cool. They make money though. Can’t blame Jason if he goes, but they’ll never let him have a piece of their pie. He’s too threatening.

“Rock music, like country, is supposed to be a more organic influence, meaning humans playing music by striking chords on wood and wire, and slapping skins stretched over drum barrels. EDM and hip-hop are decidedly more electronic based. It doesn’t make one right and one wrong necessarily, but organic vs. electronic is why country and rock mix more intuitively than country and EDM.”

This is the kind of lucid, concise distinction that keeps me coming back to this site. Among all the confusion that attends our conversations on genre in an increasingly globalized world, insights like these are critical. It really does come down to the base elements of the production and the intention. While your smug contemporaries like to throw everything into the same bowl, I’m so gratified to see that you’re still looking at everything with a sober eye, Trig. Thanks for the post.

except for the part where it’s wrong about hip hop. Not trying to be a pain, but hip hop literally comes from the African drumming/storytelling tradition. That’s why it’s so organic to it’s place and people, like country. So to just totally ignore it’s roots is wrong, and label it electric is wrong and BS.

I understand that this is a thorny issue, but I understand soul music (which is integral to country music!) as an distinctively African American convention. This much can’t be disputed too much; soul arose from Africans mourning their displacement in a mostly Southern American context, and coping with the results. Soul of course has its deepest roots in African traditions, but it wasn’t until they were forced into new soil that they gained the color and character of Soul.

Hip-hop was a newer convention arising from African Americans’ placement in urban contexts – and, as Trigger continuously points out, the urban is separate from the rural. Of course the concept of subgenre is an important one, but when we’re talking about subgenre in a “country” scope, soul pertains and hip-hop does not.

I love the quote and Sturgill is my #1 dude, but this is all semantics, right? I’m from Memphis and there’s tremendous currency to the designation of a song/artist/style as capital-S “Soul” (the genre) vs. being merely “soulful”. Capital-S “Soul” emerged as a secularization of Gospel music. It was characteristically “soulful”, yes – and of course “all good music is [soulful]”, meaning that it’s animated with a genuine human spirit. But if we’re picking nits about why hip-hop doesn’t transfer organically to country music, and why soul does, then this is a distinction worth making.

If it isn’t country why is it nominated for anything in a country setting? If it isn’t a country musician playing it it isn’t country.
Why is that so hard to grasp?
Nominating somebody not country with non-country music does no one in country any favors. It favors an association that obviously has lost its way….. I guess, but then I don’t pay attention to awards shows either. They lost my support a long time ago and they continue to prove me right in my decision.

I’m not really a fan of Jason’s new album, but with the exception of Chris Stapleton I’d still rather listen to Isbell’s album on a constant repeat than have to listen to the music of any other of the artists nominated. MAYBE I could stomach Miranda.

This is starting to sound like “my not Country is better than your not Country because Americana is closer to it than pop”. I gave the Isbell album another listen after the nomination and I laughed and said to myself “this isn’t Country any more than Simpson’s or Stapleton’s is”. It IS closer to Country than SOME of the current songs on the nations CountryPop playlists for sure. Trigger saying that “country radio doesn’t play country at all either” is an absurd statement.http://www.billboard.com/charts/country-airplay
There’s the current airplay list. SOME of those songs ARE Country and a larger percentage are Pop but that’s not “at all” and it’s not the artists fault either way.

There is no such thing as firm genre boundaries in music anymore. You’ve got all kinds of artists crossing over from one “genre” to another these days. And If Sam Hunt or Kelsea Ballerini can get nominated for the various country music awards, why can’t someone like Jason Isbell or Sturgill Simpson?

I want Jason Isbell to be as successful, commercially and artistically, as is possible. The man brings so much to his music and songwriting that awards are kinda beside the point. I want everyone to feel what I feel when I hear his music, whether it be “Cover Me Up”, “Something More than Free, “If We Were Vampires”, “Traveling Alone” or “Hope the High Road” just to name a few… His music is so visceral that sometimes I feel exhausted, emotionally and otherwise, after listening to his albums… So meaningful and personal.

That he is up for a CMA award… what award would you have him be eligible for? It makes sense. Not since the Stanley Brothers, Johnny Cash, and, yes Hank Williams, as well as others, has someone brought so much humanity and spirit to country music.